my greatest weapons is my return because i can hit outright winners. i have a wicked backhand slice, my forehand is for ball bashing. backhand can be a weakness but can also be a strength because i can put a lot of junk on it. dependable second serves and can not be easily attacked because my serves are not for power but for placement and setting up points ( i once played a match and had 16 aces and all i did was slice serves with massive movement). my approach shots are awesome but my volley sucks big time. overhead is dependable but it can break down. i tend to kill my strings in 2 hours or less so i need to change stings often but due to financial contraints i just adjust my game according to the string condition. i have a tendency to break down mentally. my fitness is questionable. signature shots running one hand backhand

I held a racquet perhaps like 7-8 times in my life, total playing experience of like 10 hours.

I can hit a forehand. Nadal-style, lasso over my head.

Backhand (two-handed somehow felt 'natural' to me).... hmm, I succeed in getting it over the net, maybe once in ten attempts.

I can hit a slice backhand IF I'm really really lucky. Otherwise I just swing the racquet below the approaching ball.

I actually manage to serve, double-faulting only like 30% of the time.

I guess I can 'move' around the field, but I think Karlovic definitely moves way better.

Seeing the ball can be a challenge, sometimes, so if a ball travels right at my feet, chances for me to actually get a racquet on it are extremely low. It has to hit the ground at least 5 metres in front of me, then I can swing at it with some success.

I play 3 years, obviously Fed fan but so far I can just cry like him and dress like him
I can hit good topspin and flat forehand, have pretty good serve (60% in) and weak 2nd serve (just working on my kick serve). Playing lot of doubles lately so I can improve my volleys to use more net play in singles. My worst shot is definitelly backhand, I started with one-handed, could not improve so I tried DH backhand but it was even worse and I did not feel comfortable so I got back to OH backhand. Slice works pretty well though.

On winning DC and its overall importance in the discussion for all-time greats

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orbis

Davis Cup should never have really mattered in the GOAT discussion anyway since it's a team event. If you're talking about the GOAT singles player then you should mainly look at individual results.If some unknown talent came out of some random tiny country (no chance to win DC) and won 20 slams, no one would give a single shit if that player didn't have DC. The fact is, success in DC is largely determined by what country you come from or play for in the first place, which most players haven't had any control over.

I play quite often, have been doing so for a few years now, and play really good tennis at times, but most of the time it's quite average or sometimes poor. I have a double-handed backhand, and play a moderate, baseline-orientated game, but I will come in and change-it-up a lot with drops outs and slices. I suffer from a lack of topspin I think.

Strengths:

+ Cross-court backhand. I can really rip it, very flat, over the lowest part of the net, and create surprisingly good angles.
+ Cross-court forehand. I don't have the topspin to create very good angles with this shot, so I just aim for the left baseline-tramlines corner and it's effective.
+ Return of serve. I've got very good reactions, but sometimes that is compromised by a lack of control in the return. Still consider it a strength, considering the amount of big first serves I can get back into play, despite not being that flexible and quick.
+ Net game. Perhaps not a major strength but I have good feel, I can really execute drop volleys well, but sometimes I miss some sitters. Solid enoughI though.
+ Drop shots and slices. Major part of my game which is usually pretty good.
+ Down-the-line backhand. Usually pretty sound. Precision and not power is my motto here, unlike the cross-court backhand.

Weaknesses:

- Inside-out and inside-in forehand. I find it difficult to control the ball here. I suffer from a lack of topspin.
- Down-the-line forehand. It's a streaky shot but more often than not I hit the tape or send it long.
- Serve. Not a big first serve, I can get a few free points via service winners and aces, but not enough, considering how awful my second serve is.
- Movement and defence. I don't move well and defend pretty poorly, and it's a problem because I don't have it in me to play controlling tennis from the baseline.

I've played for around 4 years now. Considering that and my lack of coaching ever, I'd say I'm doing pretty well.

-Massive forehand for my level of play. Can hit basically every shot with my favorite being the inside in. I've worked to be able to put a bit more spin on this shot, and it's definitely paid off and made it much more "heavy" but I still love flattening it out and going for broke every now and then. Only weakness is really creating angles crosscourt. I'm not good at putting sidespin on the ball and still having pace.

-Terrible backhand, 2H. It's basically a baseball swing. No spin, can't create angles. On a good day I can stay in a point until I can't hit a forehand and take control of the point. I have added a slice recently which is decent, but nothing to write home about.

-Decent serve. I have my days where it's solid, but really nothing special. My second serve is definitely attackable, but very few people know how to step into second serves, plus I love redirecting pace when they do, so it's not a terrible liability.

-Movement is bad. I have slow footwork, except on the forehand unsurprisingly.

-My whole strategy is basically stand at the baseline and refuse to move back and play defense. If I entice my opponent into a ballbashing contest I will probably win the match. And lets face it, ballbashing is fun!

I've been playing about three years now fairly regularly (once or twice a fortnight). Started late in life so my improvements have been slow and gradual - I'm not a natural sportsman.

Strongest shot is my flat forehand, which I can hit for winners on either side on a good day. Sh*t two-handed backhand which is just a stay in the rally shot for me - I think I've hit two outright winners with it in the last year. But it's better than my OH backhand which is terrible, often failing to clear the net. Fairly decent first serve, although not enough percentage in. Second serve is weak. Volleying is ok on a good day, can play the occasional decent drop shot. Overhead smashes even worse than backhand.

Love playing though, and thinking about having some coaching to improve my game.